77% children between 6 and 23 months lack required diet diversity in India: NFHS-5

New Delhi: A child requires good nutrition right from the birth. Mother’s milk provides the required nutrition and is sufficient to strengthen immunity. But the real challenge lies between the 6 and 23 months, with the children requiring a diverse diet.

Along with breastfeeding, complementary feeding with a diverse diet can ensure the nutrition requirement and boost immunity. World Health Organisation (WHO) has suggested a minimum dietary diversity (MDD) to evaluate the quality of a child’s diet.

A study based on the data from the National Family and Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data for 2019-21, has revealed that 77% of the children between 6 and 23 months lack the required diversity in diet.

What is MDD?

The WHO has defined MDD as the consumption of five or more out of the eight food groups for children aged between 6 and 23 months.

The food groups are as follows:

Breast milk

Grains, starchy roots, and plantains

Beans, peas, nuts and seeds

Dairy products

Flesh foods

Eggs

Vitamin-A rich foods

Other fruits and vegetables

Dr Amit Modi, Paediatrician at Noida International Institute of Medical Sciences (NIIMS) said, “Infants require a variety of essential foods to ensure proper growth, development, and immunity function. A diverse diet provides minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates necessary for development”.

Implication of lack of diet

The lack of diet, the MDD as suggested by the WHO, can result in severe malnutrition, leading to severe health complications and development of the child. The other implications include low immunity, weak learning, risk of delayed motor and cognitive development, and poor metabolism and memory.

Stunting, lack of cell growth, immune function, intestinal health, infections, and diarrhea are other possible risks faced by children lacking a diverse diet.

“Ensuring diversity in an infant’s diet is crucial for growth, development, and proper functioning of the body. Including a variety of textures, flavors, and nutrients during the early stages helps to build healthy eating habits and promote proper growth and development”, Dr . Amit Modi said.

Despite several encouraging trends, approximately one in every three children is underweight and stunted while one in five children is wasted (wasting is the condition when weight to height ratio is below the benchmark level).

Children from central, north, and western India were affected.

The study based on the NFHS-5 has identified a reduction in stunting, from 38.4% to 35.5% while wasting has also fallen from 21.0% to 19.3% in comparison with NFHS-4. A similar pattern has been witnessed in underweight children, with the number falling from 35.8% to 32.1%.

The minimum diet diversity (MDDF) has also reduced considerably from 87.4% in 2005-06 to 77.1% in 2019-21. The MDDF is still high in rural areas where awareness is negligible among mothers.

The MDDF is predominantly high in the north, central, and western parts of India, with Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh occupying the top five positions, all with more than 80% of MDDF.

Steps to tackle MDD

The study has suggested the strengthening of the public distribution system (PDS), intensification of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), utilization of local self-government, and mass and social media to create awareness in the rural areas.